Weekly Torah Studies
Today's Torah
Portion:
The Hebrew Alphabet: Bet
Bet
= 2 and is B of Hebrew. It is also sometimes called Vet
which is the V of Hebrew.
· BET is the Hebrew word for HOUSE
and for TEMPLE.
· BET
is the number of DIVISION and of UNITY.
Yahshua explained, “Destroy this
TEMPLE, and in 3 days I will raise it up… But He spoke of the TEMPLE of His
Body.” (John 2:19 & 21)
Messiah
IS our Home… We abide in Him. And He desires to make His Home (TEMPLE) in our
hearts.
Yahshua came to Tabernacle with us.
Because of this Gift, mankind may be united with Heaven once again.
The
BET looks like a side view of the
manger (sukkot) where Yahshua was
born.
The traditional Sukkah
is a BET. As we dwell in it, it
represents Messiah coming in to our hearts and “supping” with us.
Referring
to the Heavenly Jerusalem, John wrote, “And I saw no TEMPLE therein; for Yahweh God Almighty and the LAMB are the
TEMPLE of it,” Revelation 21:22.
Yahshua is the Great Divider. He is our
Righteous Judge Who will come in His Glory. “And before Him shall be gathered
all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd DIVIDES
his sheep from the goats,” Matthew 25:32.
Though Yahshua is the Creator and Builder, He
is also the
Gate of the Sheep Pen. John quotes Yahshua this way: “I tell
you the Truth, the man who does not
enter the sheep pen by
the GATE, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief
and a
robber… I tell you Truth, I AM the Gate for the sheep… I AM
the Gate;
whoever enters through Me will be saved…” (John
10:1-9).
draw BET was to
make a Sheepfold. In
Bible times, a sheep
pen was a stone enclosure, shaped
very much like the letter
Bet, if you
were looking at it from the top view. It was used to
contain the sheep at
night. The sheep were herded into the
sheep pen, by way of the GATE, before
dark. Then the
Shepherd slept across the opening to ensure their safety.
This is a beautiful picture for Yahweh’s
Last Day saints-
straight from Psalm 91 “He
who dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of
the Almighty…”
Psalm 119:9-16 Shows the BET:
In Psalm 119:9-16, we find the BET section. In this
part of
Psalm 119, we see what it takes to Tabernacle with Yahweh,
or dwell in
His House (Temple) – which is the essence of
what it means to be His Church.
This is also how to dwell
safely in His Sheepfold:
BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed thereto
according to Thy Word.
With my whole heart have I sought Thee:
O let me not
wander from Thy Commandments.
Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might
not sin against Thee.
Blessed art Thou, O YAHWEH:
teach me Thy Statutes.
With my lips have I declared all the Judgments
of Thy Mouth.
I have rejoiced in the Way
of Thy Testimonies, as much as in all riches.
I will meditate in Thy Precepts,
and have respect unto Thy Ways.
I will
delight myself in Thy Statutes: I will not forget Thy Word.
This Week's Torah Studies: (Statutes 1-20)
The Torah studies are provided in two formats for your convenience. The first option (below) is the blank worksheets for this week, which will allow you to print out the worksheets and hand-write the studies yourself. If you have less time, you may wish to read/print my completed Statute studies. The completed worksheets are in Microsoft Word format and are the second option (below):
While we will be reading through the Torah in order (see this week's Torah Reading), we will not be studying the Commandments and Statutes in order. Since the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) is the heart of the Torah, it is appropriate to start with it. The Shema is the Torah portion which is written in the Mezzuzah and put upon the doorposts of the house. So, our Torah studies will be following another order. Also, in order to study all Ten Commandments and all 613 Statutes in a year, it is necessary to complete several studies each day, as shown below. Happy studying!
Statute 1 Summary:
(1) Submit to Yahweh as the One and only God in the Universe. Make Him First in your life, thinking and heart.
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God is one Yah.”
Statute 2 Summary:
(2) Love Yahweh with every fiber of your being.
Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love Yahweh thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
Statute 3 Summary:
(3) In Keeping His Commands, we Worship and reverence Yahweh, as our Heavenly Father.
Deuteronomy 6:1-2,13, 25 “Now these are the Commandments, the Statutes, and the Judgments, which Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear Yahweh thy God, to keep all His Statutes and His Commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged… Thou shalt fear Yahweh thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His Name… And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before Yahweh our God, as He hath commanded us.”
Statute 4 Summary:
(4) Serve Yahweh as Your Heavenly Father.
Exodus 23:25 “And ye shall serve Yahweh your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.”
Statute 5 Summary:
(5) Hold fast to Yahweh and take all your vows and oaths in His Name.
Deuteronomy 10:20 “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and swear by His Name.”
Statute 6 Summary:
(6) Only take oaths in Yahweh’s Name, when you reverence Him as your Father.
Deuteronomy 6:13 “Thou shalt fear Yahweh thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His Name.”
Statute 7 Summary:
(7) Keep Yahweh’s Law and walk in all His Ways. When we do Yahweh swears to make us holy.
Deuteronomy 28:9 “The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the Commandments of Yahweh thy God, and walk in His ways.”
Statute 8 Summary:
(8) Hallow Yahweh and do not profane His Holy Name.
Leviticus 22:32 “Neither shall ye profane My Holy Name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I Am Yahweh which hallow you.”
Statutes 9-10 Summary:
(9) Meditate on Yahweh’s Law, (10) teaching it to your household, in your “down time,” when you travel, before bed at night and first thing in the morning.
Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (And Deut 6:7)
Statute 11 Summary:
(11) Do not trust in any power but Yahweh.. Worship Him alone.
Leviticus 19:4 “Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I Am Yahweh your God.”
Statute 12 Summary:
(12) Do not make gods out of anything.
Exodus 20:23 “Ye shall not make with Me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.”
Statutes 13-16 Summary:
(13) Do not worship representations of God, for He has not shown us His form. (14) Do not make, (15) bow down to, (16) nor worship images of any created thing.
Deuteronomy 4:15-19 “Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that Yahweh spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, the likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.”
Statutes 17-18 Summary:
(17) Do not give your children to any false god, nor offer them as sacrifices to them. (18) Do not profane Yahweh’s Name.
Leviticus 18:21 “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the Name of thy God: I Am Yahweh.”
Statutes 19-20 Summary:
(19) Do not turn to mediums or familiar spirits. (20) Do not seek after them.
Leviticus 19:31 “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I Am Yahweh your God.”
